


X Reader

by KandiSheek



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Multi, POV First Person, Reader-Insert, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:08:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9518180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KandiSheek/pseuds/KandiSheek
Summary: Fluffy, funny and smutty stories featuring various One Piece characters and you. Currently included: Usopp, Mihawk, Law, Dragon, Killer





	1. Usopp x Reader

There was absolutely nothing here. So what the hell was he drawing?

I tried squinting my eyes, turning my head, looking in every possible direction, but... nothing. I didn't see anything worth the effort of drawing it. Just the plain old stupid market with hordes of people bustling about and shouting their prizes. And off to the side, watching, scrutinizing, was a man with a ridiculously long nose huddled over a sheet of paper, tongue between his lips in concentration as he scratched his pen over the page. What was so interesting that he felt like he had to save it in a drawing? I walked through this place every day and never saw anything worth mentioning.

Both curious and slightly frustrated I looked this way and that, trying to find something special, something exciting... But found that everything was the same as ever. I startled when he suddenly looked up, eyes fixed on something further down the street where my eyes couldn't reach. Well, now my interest was piqued.

I could've just walked up to him and asked to see his drawing, maybe even simply looked over his shoulder, but that seemed a little too straight-forward. I sighed. Should I really talk to him? I didn't recognize him, actually I'd never seen him around before. From the looks of it he was probably a foreigner, maybe a merchant's son. Who knew how he might react? The few artists I'd met before all hadn't wanted to be disturbed while they were working. I really didn't want to be rude, but... ah, screw it.

I walked up to him with determined steps, stopping directly in front of him.

“Hey.”

He looked up, probably surprised to be spoken to. “Huh?”

“What are you drawing?”, I asked, nodding in the direction of his sketchbook.

“What am I-” The man followed my line of sight, a smile finding its way to his face. “Oh, that? It's nothing special.”

I cocked my head to the side, crossing my arms. “Can I see it?”

“You...”, he said, looking rather taken aback, eyes wide in surprise. “You want to?”

“Yes, please.”

A huge grin lit up his face and he laughed loudly, startling me. “Yosh, yosh, so you want to see the great masterpieces of the amazing Captain Usopp, huh? You should know, I am actually a world famous painter with over 8000 followers”, he exclaimed with great flourish, making people turn to look at him quizzically.

I blinked. “What are you talking about?”

He didn't lose his grin, simply patted the space next to him to beckon me over. I sat down, still looking at him from the corner of my eyes. What a strange man.

Usopp - he said that was his name, right? - didn't seem to mind. He simply kept drawing, his sketchbook slightly tilted towards me so I could see. Full of curiosity I leaned over to get a closer look at... Wait...

I stared at the picture for a good minute before I could come up with something to say. “I... what?”

He looked up at me questioningly. “Hm?”

“Is that... a bird's nest?”, I asked, pointing at the picture of the two flying sparrows, one of them feeding its children nestled in straw off to the side. Don't get me wrong, it was beautifully drawn and very detailed, but... Well, I didn't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't _that._

“Yes, yes it is”, he told me with a grin, pointing to some far corner on a roof. “Look, up there.”

I looked in the direction of his finger and sure enough there was a family of birds nesting in the gables. I could just barely make out the baby chicks flitting around in the hay, little beaks wide open in hunger. My eyes widened in surprise. “You're right! How did you notice that?”

He cocked his head. “How did you not?”

I stuttered for an answer, suddenly ashamed. It was true, I walked through this street every day and never even noticed something like that. How embarrassing.

“Hey now, cheer up, I was joking”, he laughed, patting my shoulder. “But seriously, this town is amazing! There's so much cool stuff around here!”

I cocked an eyebrow at that. “Like what?”

Usopp stared right back, seemingly surprised. “The market! The people! They're interesting, don't you think?”

No, I really didn't. “Well...”

“You don't think so?” He tilted his head, eying me with a look I couldn't read. “Is there really nothing you like here?”

“No, nothing at...” I trailed off as I looked into the distance, suddenly remembering something. “No, wait. There's one thing.”

He perked up at that. “Really? And what's that?”

I thought about it for a while before pointing to the north entrance. “When you walk this way out of town there's nothing but grass fields and small trees everywhere you look, but somewhere to the right you can see a path that leads you up the hill into a forest. If you keep going straight you'll find a pretty big tree trunk that got knocked over by the wind ages ago. And behind it...” I trailed off, suddenly feeling a little stupid. Why did I even remember this?

“What, what's behind it?”, Usopp asked excitedly.

I hesitated just a second before sighing in answer. “Strawberries.”

He seemed a little stunned. “Strawberries?”

“Yeah”, I said, a fond smile finding its way onto my face. “They don't grow anywhere else on the island, so those few plants were like a treasure to me.” I tipped my head back, looking at the sky in remembrance. “My friends and I used to go there every summer to pluck them. Nancy's mother had a farm, so she always brought some homemade cream to dip them in.” I chuckled. “We barely ever got two hands full, but it was enough to keep us happy for days.”

I turned to find Usopp staring at me intently as if he was trying to figure something out. That look was gone in a flash though as he smiled widely at me.

“Can I see them?”, he asked. “The strawberries?”

I eyed him silently for a little while before nodding slowly. “Sure.”

His grin grew as he stood up, pulling me with him. “Yosh! Let's go!”

The walk wasn't very long and I was surprised by how familiar it all still looked even though it had been years since I'd walked this path. The carving in our tree was still there, the forest smelled exactly the way I remembered it, even our secret base – though covered in moss – still stood tall. I took everything in with a strange sort of awe. Just like old times...

When the trunk came into view I stopped.

“Here it is”, I said, motioning Usopp forward.

He stepped up, walking around the trunk to take a long look at my treasure. I stayed where I was as I watched a soft smile play over his lips.

“It's a beautiful spot”, he finally said, sitting down and pulling out his sketchbook. The scratching of pen over paper was the only sound I heard as he worked in silence, me just standing off to the side, watching him yet not actually looking at him. This place brought back so many memories. It reminded me of why I hadn't been here for so long.

“Your friends”, he suddenly spoke up, startling me from my thoughts. “What were they like?”

I sighed and looked into the distance as I remembered their faces. God, I hadn't seen them in forever. “There were four of us. We called ourselves the 'Forest Peace Rangers' even though we were anything but peaceful and quiet.” I didn't even notice the smile tugging at my lips, too caught up in the memory. “Nancy always had her hair in pigtails because her mother didn't want her to wear it loose. For some reason Kurt really liked to pull on it. I always thought it was because he had a crush on her.” I couldn't help but chuckle slightly as I remembered that. It had been obvious, really. “Noah was a wild child, always talking big about adventures and getting us into all kinds of trouble. But he had a really big heart, especially for his friends. He used to run around saying that we were his 'nakama' and everything.” I closed my eyes, smile turning soft. “I miss those times.”

Usopp didn't say anything, just sat there quietly sketching for a few minutes longer, but I could tell that he had heard every word. I watched him, feeling at ease for the first time in a long while. It felt really good for some reason, knowing that someone else now knew of my treasure even though all there was to it were a few strawberries and some fond memories.

“Yosh, I'm done”, Usopp suddenly said, standing up and walking back over to me, smiling that huge smile of his. “Let's go back!”

His enthusiasm was contagious, so I found myself smiling back just a little. “Yeah, let's.”

The way back was filled with stories of his great adventures at sea, his boisterous laughing and my amused comments. Even though he was obviously lying (who ever heard of an island in the sky, I mean seriously) I found myself enjoying his company more and more. I was almost sad to see him off once we got to town and it was time for him to go. To my surprise he didn't bother to make a huge dramatic scene about it, simply putting a piece of paper in my hand and then walking away with a hand raised in silent goodbye.

Once he left I unfolded the page he had handed to me and looked at it. And looked harder. And then some more.

The first tear hit the paper with a mute splash, making me blink and raise my head only to find that he had already disappeared into the crowd.

I looked back at the drawing, at the girl with the pigtails, the boy pulling on them, the little brat striking a hero pose. I looked at my younger self, shockingly accurate in her looks, sitting at their side laughing and holding a small basket in her hands. And all around them... strawberries.

Tears blurred my eyes before I squeezed them firmly shut, choking on a sob. It looked nothing like the scene had back then, but that wasn't the point.

I knew for a fact that there were no strawberries behind the tree trunk anymore. The small plants had long since died, just like Nancy and Kurt and Noah. But there was no way he could have known that. He couldn't have.

I clutched the paper to my chest with a shaking hand, hiding the message he left behind on the bottom of the drawing. And I cried, not caring in the least that people were staring, not listening to the questions of 'Are you okay?' or 'What happened?', not even noticing the grinning man leaning against a wall around the corner before he tipped his straw hat out of his face and walked towards the harbor. Nothing could have ruined this moment for me.

And even though they looked nothing like my friends had and there were no strawberries anymore I couldn't help but smile through my tears as I looked at the bird's nest across the street, silently thanking the stranger who gave me what I needed without even knowing he did.

_'You should smile more often. - U'_


	2. Mihawk x Reader

Maybe it was the bad lighting of the tavern. Maybe it was a reflection of the candlelight shining from the table he sat at. Maybe it was simply my imagination or another reason altogether that I just couldn't fathom.

But there was no way in hell anyone's eyes could actually be _gleaming_ like this.

I couldn't help glancing back at him every now and then as I dried the dishes. Even from the distance it looked like his eyes gave a light of their own, that's how bright they were. And yellow was such an unusual eye color, too. I'd never seen eyes like his in my life even though this bar was famous for the number of foreigners who frequented it. Everything else about him, his black coat, his hat, his beard, even his poise... nothing really stood out to me, especially compared to some of the other guests I'd seen (a particular customer with technicolor clothes and an abnormally large, red nose came to mind). Hell, I probably wouldn't have looked at him twice if it weren't for his eyes.

...Probably.

Placing the dried mug on the counter next to me I bent over to reach for a rag underneath the sink when I suddenly felt an unpleasant shiver run down my spine. Acting on instinct I whipped around in the direction of the strange man... Only to find a group of pirates a few tables over whistling and hooting at my flustered state. For some reason I actually felt disappointed that it wasn't the yellow-eyed man staring at me.

To hide the obvious blush on my face I turned around and started messing with the alcohol bottles even though they were already perfectly aligned. What was wrong with me? I wasn't usually this jumpy.

“Excuse me.”

Startled from my thoughts I quickly turned around to the new customer. “H-Hai!”

The old man laughed, a nice and warm sound. “I'm sorry, young lady. I didn't mean to scare you.”

My face only turned a deeper shade of red. “Oh, no, it's me who should apologize. What can I do for you, Sir?”

“Some sake to start with, I suppose”, he said benignly. “I'm waiting for someone.”

“A meeting?”, I asked with a smile of my own as I fixed his drink. “Well, business is low today, so the atmosphere might be just right for a little chat.”

The customer hummed his agreement and tipped his hat in thanks when I placed his drink in front of him. Since he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts I went to the other end of the bar to get my dish towel when suddenly the uncomfortable feeling of being watched made me pause. I looked up to see the pirates from before leaning against the bar in a way that they must have thought to be 'cool'.

“Oi missy, wat'cha sayin you's be goin' with us for t'night?”, one of them slurred at me, obviously drunk past his limit.

Squaring my shoulders I stood my ground at the front of the counter. “I'm sorry, Sir, but this bar does not offer services of that kind”, I replied calmly, looking directly at him. Past experiences had taught me not to back away. The likes of him usually viewed it as a challenge. 

“N'aww, c'moon. Don' be like that!”, he bellowed, leaning across to get a better look at my face. “Yerr pretty and I'mma be back at sea t'morrow...”

“Then a good night's sleep is what you might need the most right now, good Sir”, I said politely, picking up my towel and starting to dry a plate. Even though I – hopefully – looked unfazed on the outside my heart was pounding like crazy. I really hated situations like this. Unwillingly my eyes flitted over to the yellow-eyed man just to find him staring somewhere into the distance.

A fist banging onto the counter brought me back to the situation at hand. “Don' mess with me, woman!”, the pirate growled and reached for my arm, tugging on it. “Actin' all high'n'mighty, eh? 'S jus' for one night, c'mon!”

I winced when his grip tightened on my upper arm, reaching up with my other hand to try and pull his fingers off me to no avail. He only held on tighter, making me hiss at the sudden pain.

“Let me go, please. I said no!”, I almost shouted, panic starting to seep into my voice. I looked back over at the foreigner in a silent plea for help. He was still looking away.

“I don' _take_ NO!”, the pirate shouted, pulling me even closer towards him so I could feel his alcohol-ridden breath on my face. My eyes watered at the stench. “I'll show ya a good time, so why don'cha'-”

“Excuse me.”

I whipped around towards the voice, relief making my heart flutter as I saw the nice elderly customer from earlier laying a hand on the pirate's shoulder, smiling almost icily at him.

“I believe the lady said no, so I'd suggest that you back off.”

For a moment the pirate looked like was going to talk back, but something about the man seemed to intimidate him. He snapped his mouth shut and angrily shrugged the hand off.

“Fine!”, he bellowed. “We's abou' t'leave anyway!” With that he stomped out of the tavern, his nakama following him like lost puppies, shooting suspicious glances at the customer from the corner of their eyes.

Said man turned towards me with an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry for not interfering sooner, young lady. I didn't expect them to be this persistent.”

“Oh no, you helped me plenty, kind Sir”, I said as I bowed to him respectfully, feeling like a huge weight rolled of my chest. “Thank you very much. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here.”

“Well, I suppose my friend would have sliced them up”, the man said with laughter in his voice, leaning closer to whisper conspiratorially. “He's been staring at you for a while now, I bet you've noticed.”

I blushed a little at the last comment when something about what he said made me pause. “Wait, your friend? I thought you were still waiting for him to get here.”

The man shook his head with an amused smile. “Oh no, he's been here all along. I'm just waiting for him to finish his drink and come over to talk.”

I cocked my head in confusion. “But, why...?”

He laughed at my stunned expression. “Don't even try to understand. He has his own way of handling things, that guy.”

I nodded slowly, my brow slightly furrowed. “Then who-”

“Garp”, a smooth voice suddenly sounded from behind the customer. I twisted around a little to get a good look at who spoke and felt my breath hitch.

It was the foreigner!

Briskly averting my eyes I busied myself with the empty mugs in front of me, trying to ignore the blush about to take over my face yet again. Geez, what was _wrong_ with me?

“Ah, Mihawk”, I heard the nice man – apparently Garp – reply as he turned towards the other. “I'm surprised that you actually decided to show yourself for once.”

“I'm surprised to see you here as well.” That made me wonder. Didn't they agree to meet up beforehand?

“Haha, touché. Anyway, I'm here to deliver a message from Sengoku.”

“Why did he send _you?_ ” I was honestly trying hard not to eavesdrop, but _god_ , just hearing that voice made me all fidgety now that I knew it belonged to him. Deep and silky smooth, yet not quite as low-pitched as I had expected it to be. Not that I had imagined what it would sound like or anything. I turned away from the two men, trying to at least look like I wasn't listening as I desperately willed my heartbeat to slow down. It didn't.

Garp laughed boisterously behind me. “Well, I guess he didn't want to expose any of his other men to your attitude. They're saying that you can be quite intimidating.”

“Is that so?” I couldn't see it, but I swore I felt the man called 'Mihawk' smirk just slightly behind my back. There was a strong urge to turn around and look, but I kept myself busy sorting through the alcohol bottles again, feeling frustrated with myself. Was that a nervous tick or what?

“Indeed.” I heard a rustling of paper. “Everything's written on here. Not even I know what it's about.”

“Understood.” Rustling sounds again. “Is that all?”

“I guess so.” The sound of a bar stool scraping across the floor. “I'll be taking my leave then. Young lady?”

I turned back towards him quickly, desperately avoiding any and all eye-contact with the foreign man. “H-Hai?”

Garp smiled at my nervous antics, tipping his hat as he put his coat back on (which I only just noticed had a Navy symbol on it – holy shit, was he a Marine?), and placed a few coins for his drink on the counter. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

I smiled back at him, bowing slightly. “The pleasure was all mine, Sir. I hope our services were satisfactory for you.” I desperately tried to ignore the yellow eyes boring into the side of my head, but I could already feel nervous sweat forming on my nape. “And thank you again for what you did earlier.”

Garp laughed once more, putting a hand on my shoulder. “No need to be so formal! And stop with the 'Sir' crap, it's Garp for you.” With that he stood, tipping his hat to Mihawk as well and leaving the bar.

I watched him go with a forced smile, every nerve in my body screaming 'Come back, come back, don't leave me alone with him, no, no, no!' until he reached the exit and walked out with a last wave. Maybe it was my imagination, but the sound of the door closing seemed entirely too final.

With dread pooling in my stomach I turned back towards the man called Mihawk and almost fell over at the intense look in his eyes. Oh dear, up close they looked all but _too_ yellow, almost like bird eyes!

I swallowed heavily as I put on my best smile. “Can I bring you something to drink, Sir? Or a small meal?”

No response. He just kept staring. I was about to ask again when he shook his head. “No, thank you.”

Very helpful. “Alright. Feel free to call me if you need anything”, I said a little awkwardly as I went back to my business.

Hours went by and even though he didn't order anything Mihawk never left his spot. It was incredibly distracting as my eyes kept drifting over to him only to find him looking directly at me, acting all serious yet never doing as much as utter a single word. I was just about to rip my own hair out in frustration when the clock mercifully announced the end of my shift.

I tried not to look too relieved as I bid Mihawk a polite farewell and retreated to the back room, ridding myself of my working clothes and greeting Nelly, the girl who would take over the bar for me.

...And stand there for the rest of the night. Alone. With Mihawk.

The sudden bout of jealousy took me completely by surprise. I clenched my fists, feeling more than frustrated with myself. What, so a minute ago I was desperate to get away from him and now I wanted to go back? This was getting ridiculous! I slapped a hand against my forehead a few times, trying to clear my thoughts. Sleep. I needed sleep.

Shaking my head at my own antics I grabbed my stuff and left through the back door. My small apartment was only a few blocks away, so I could easily walk- Right into someone, apparently.

“Gah!”, I shouted and almost tripped over my own feet as I took a step back only to be caught by a strong hand that pulled me right back up.

“Oh my god”, I immediately apologized. “I'm so sorry, I didn't see-” My breath stuck in my throat as I looked up. Oh hell no.

“Don't worry”, Mihawk said as he let go of my hand. “It was my fault.”

I could only gape at him. “You- But- Why are you- I thought...” My voice trailed off as I realized how rude I was being. I took a deep breath and smiled apologetically instead, trying to look calmer than I felt. “I'm sorry. This just... surprised me a little.”

Those yellow eyes shone bright even in the darkness as he stared at me. I swallowed hard, unable to look away. A part of my brain told me to run as fast as my feet could carry me, but an even bigger part urged me to stay right here. Not that I could have moved right now, even if I'd wanted to. I recoiled slightly when Mihawk suddenly held out a hand towards me, his ever serious gaze burning into mine.

“Come.”

I couldn't even breathe. “Eh?”

“Don't be scared.” Was he hypnotizing me? It sure felt like it. “Come with me.”

My feet felt like they were glued to the ground. “I... Why?”

Probably sensing my fear his eyes softened into something a little less demanding, his voice also lowering. “I'm sure you know that.”

And I did. Oh, how I did. Nelly's shifts usually ended with this sort of thing and with the way she liked to brag there was little I _didn't_ know about this. I'd just never done it myself before.

But oh how tempting this was. Mihawk was so very attractive, possibly more attractive than any other man I'd seen before. And there was just something about the confident way he talked, his stance, his _voice_... Everything about him lured me in.

Holding out my hand I hesitated just before grabbing his. “I, um... I'm a virgin”, I stuttered out, internally face-palming right afterwards. I just had to say that, didn't I? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Mihawk's gaze didn't waver. “I won't force you into anything.”

I blinked in disbelief, eyes slightly narrowing. This was just too good to be true. Why would a grown man go for a virgin if he could have women with way more experience? But no matter how I looked at him, I found no lie in his eyes.

It wasn't until I felt him gently pulling me along that I realized I had grabbed his hand. Looking along our joined arms my eyes fell on something he held in his left.

“You're a swordsman?”

He looked back over his shoulder, staying halfway turned as he stared at me for the hundredth time that day, yet still gracefully avoiding every obstacle in the alley. Did he have a sixth sense or something? “Yes.”

I almost didn't hear him over my thoughts when he spoke. “Oh. That's nice. My father used to be one.” Yeah, right. When he was like twelve and took three or four lessons.

Seemingly unfazed by my comment Mihawk led me around a corner and up some stairs leading to an apartment complex quite similar to the one I lived at. Now that we were so close my nervousness came back with a vengeance. I grit my teeth against it. God, being a virgin didn't mean I had to be a whiny bitch about it!

My grip on his hand must have tightened for Mihawk didn't let go even when he had to put down his sword in order to pull out the keys to let us in with his other hand. As I followed him inside I turned this way and that to not miss a single detail about his house... until I noticed that there wasn't much of anything inside. Just bare necessities, a bed, a small table, a chair. It was painfully obvious that Mihawk wasn't here to stay.

I perked up when the swordsman suddenly let go of my hand to walk across the room and light the single candle in the middle of it. Self-consciously rubbing my arms I looked anywhere but at Mihawk as he silently shed his coat and put it on a hanger, carefully placing his sword right next to it. I only looked back up from where I'd been eying the floor when I felt his presence right in front of me. His hands on my shoulders made me stiffen in expectation until I realized he was only trying to remove my jacket for me. I uncurled my arms to make it easier for him, stepping out of the cloth with a small “Thank you” as he put it away.

Okay, I seriously needed to calm down. I chose this myself, for God's sake! It's not like he's trying to molest me!

“Here.” His soft but firm voice shook me from my thoughts. I looked up to see a glass of red wine held out in front of me and took it gratefully. Liquid courage. Just what I needed.

“Thank you”, I said, voice not shaking anymore as I took a nice, long sip. That's right, I made my decision. This wasn't that big of a deal, dammit!

He sat down on the chair by the table, motioning for me to sit on the bed. I slowly crossed the room, feeling his gaze follow me. His constant staring might have been unnerving in the beginning, but now I found myself not minding it all that much anymore. In fact the attention made me strut just a little bit. I hoped he didn't notice.

After we drank in comfortable silence (how that much silence in one evening could still be comfortable I did not know) he gallantly took my glass from me and placed it on the table. I could literally feel the mood shift as he turned back towards me.

“Don't be scared”, he said in a confident tone, slowly but surely crossing the two steps of distance between us. I swear my heart skipped a beat. “We have time.”

His hand found its way to the back of my neck where he gracefully twirled my hair around his fingers to tip my head back just slightly. I closed my eyes and gulped nervously, expecting a kiss, but instead I felt a pair of nimble fingers run across my cheekbones, my closed eyelids, my lips, my neck. I opened my eyes again to see just a hint of a smile grace his features before he bent down and lowered his lips to mine, taking me by surprise.

Unconsciously holding my breath I waited for something – anything – to happen only to be disappointed again as he pulled away from our chaste kiss to press his lips against the side of my chin, languidly traveling down my jawline. I only noticed that he had tipped my body back when I heard my hair brush against the mattress as he left kisses along my collarbone. It didn't make me feel vulnerable like I thought it would, no really, I was more impressed with the fact that he supported my whole body weight like it was nothing with just the one hand on my neck. 

Handsome and strong, too, as if he wasn't hot enough already...

One of his hands came up to run along the small of my back, dipping down to slip under my shirt and feel my skin for the first time. I shivered at the soft touch, involuntarily arching up into his body hovering above mine. He took advantage of it, keeping me in place as he met me halfway, somehow managing to pull me fully into his lap as our chests made contact. My breathing was speeding up and I felt that all too familiar blush creep onto my face again, so I instinctively lifted a hand to hide it from him. It didn't even reach my face before it was caught in a firm yet gentle grip.

“Don't” was all he said before going back to nuzzling my neck. The slightly commanding tone in his voice made me tingle pleasantly. Was he doing it on purpose?

I suddenly felt rather stupid just sitting there doing nothing, so I reached for his shoulders, running my hands over firm muscles (God, just how perfect could he get?) down to his upper back to catch him in a loose embrace. He seemed to appreciate it judging by his small, almost silent hum.

“Hold on”, he murmured in my ear and I let out a surprised squeak as he suddenly lifted me up without any visible effort to turn around and properly lay me down on the bed. His own body hovered above mine, held up by muscular arms as he looked me deep in the eyes. “It's better like this.”

I could only nod dumbly before he lowered himself on top of me, bodies suddenly touching everywhere as he tilted his head and kissed me, prying my mouth open with his tongue and taking full advantage of my flustered state as he roamed my mouth for all it was worth. It wasn't my first kiss by any means, but it might as well have been because none of my prior experiences even came close to what _this_ was. I tried to give back as much as he gave, but soon surrendered and just let him do as he pleased, opting to run my hands through his short hair instead as he effortlessly found sensitive spots I didn't even know I had. I'd never felt this dominated before, but God, I loved it!

When we broke apart I was gasping for air while Mihawk on the other hand didn't seem to have any trouble breathing. Now that wouldn't do.

Not one to be outdone I grasped the back of his head, pulling him back in and licking at his cheek, drawing a trail all the way to his earlobe. I smirked in triumph when I heard him suck in a breath, but started when his hands suddenly found my chest, undoing the buttons of my shirt. To hide my nervousness I quickly returned the favor, slowly uncovering bits of his well-built chest until I could pull his shirt over his shoulders, sitting up so he could do the same for me.

The feeling of skin on skin was glorious. I moaned as his hands traveled up and down my back, leaving trails of goosebumps in their wake. When he started fiddling with the fastener on my bra I was quick to comply, letting him pull it off me and throw it somewhere across the room. He leaned back to take in the view of me half-nakedly splayed across his bed. I stared right back.

Now I understood how he could be strong enough to single-handedly lift me. Everything about him was taut, firm muscle, from his strong neck to his chiseled chest down to the deep V disappearing into his pants. I had to divert my eyes from the bulge there with a blush. The scars marring his skin in more places than I could count didn't bother me at all, in fact I was itching to touch them, maybe trace them with my tongue...

He lowered himself back on top of me without a word, closing a warm hand over one of my breasts and kneading it slowly. I almost purred at his surprising gentleness, melting further into the pillow beneath me with a content sigh.

“You're very responsive”, Mihawk mused. I could feel him smile against my collarbone. “Interesting.”

“Mmh”, I oh so intelligently responded, arching my back to push further into his hand. God, that felt good. But... Why wasn't he moving?

I glanced up at him through my eyelids to see what made him stop and almost flinched at the suddenly dark look in his bright yellow eyes. What...

I followed his gaze to my left arm and sighed when I saw a finger-shaped bruise in the spot the pirate from the bar had gripped me earlier. So that's what it was.

I smiled at Mihawk. “It's okay. Doesn't even- Whoa!”

My eyes went wide when Mihawk suddenly grabbed me, lifting me clear off the bed to pull me into a fierce kiss. I couldn't help but melt into it even though I was a little confused. Was Mihawk actually angry about this? He couldn't be _jealous_ , right? That would be ridiculous!

Whatever it was, I couldn't find it in me to complain, not when Mihawk had finally started to get serious about this, skipping the teasing from before. What clothes we had left on were gone within minutes, forgotten on the floor as he lowered himself on top of me once again, his erection digging into my hip. I drew a sharp breath at the feeling, trying not to be too obvious about my astonishment, but geez, he was _huge!_

I chocked on air when he suddenly thrust against me once, twice, quietly groaning into my ear in that low voice, just slightly strained like he was holding himself back. Knowing that I caused this sent a jolt straight to my groin, making me shiver pleasantly. Fuck...

My hands reached up to tangle in his hair, pulling him close enough to wrap my arms around him in a tight hug. I needed this. I hadn't known it before, but right now, in this moment, I _needed_ it.

“Please”, I whispered shakily, not trusting my voice as my arms tightened around him even more. “ _Please..._ ”

He shushed me gently, stroking my side with one hand as the fingers of the other slowly slid up my inner thigh. I gasped when he suddenly cupped me, fingers digging into the wet heat underneath, both stretching and probing inside. My legs spread of their own accord, giving him room to line us up as I moaned deeply, pushing back on his fingers.

I could feel him stare at me even with my eyes closed, making me blush at the lewd sounds that I couldn't quite stop. “Ah... Mihawk...”

He took a sharp breath, taking his fingers out to replace them with something bigger, finally, _finally_ pushing inside. I hissed at the discomfort that came with it.

“Hah... slow- aah, go slower...”

He did as I asked, tightening his grip on my hips to keep from just thrusting in. “Relax. We're almost there.”

I nodded frantically, squeezing my eyes shut as he slid all the way in, my mouth falling open at the feeling. It was uncomfortable first and foremost, but knowing that it was him inside me made it just slightly exhilarating.

“Relax”, he repeated, stroking a soothing hand over my stomach as he kissed my neck. “We don't have to hurry.”

I nodded as I took deliberately slow breaths, shifting on the bed in an effort to get used to the feeling. When he finally started moving it was already much easier than before and I hummed in pleasure, wrapping my arms around him as he spread my legs further apart. The pace picked up quickly after that as everything became more needy, more desperate. I clutched his shoulders, leaving scratch marks that would probably hurt tomorrow, but he didn't seem to mind, thrusting into me with enough force to make the bed creak. He didn't moan even once, keeping firm control over his voice, but his hitched breathing and the tight grip he had on me showed me just how much he enjoyed it.

In the end I came first, clamping down on him with my legs and hands as I moaned into his shoulder. He thrust into me a few more times, shuddering out his orgasm as I tightened around him with a tired groan. I slumped back onto the bed after he pulled out, still feeling a light throbbing between my legs from the aftershocks of my orgasm. He lay down next to me, an arm cushioning his head and a satisfied gleam in his eyes. Somehow he managed to look even more beautiful like that.

I looked up at his just slightly flushed face, a strange warmth spreading through me at the sight. Now I finally understood why Nelly liked to do this so much.

He didn't fight me when I put a hand across his chest to snuggle closer, but neither did he encourage me. Instead he reached out to somewhere across the bed and silently pulled a blanket over both of us.

“Thank you”, I said softly, not expecting an answer and not getting one. He put out the candle on the nightstand just as I lay my head on his chest, signaling the end of this evening. To my own surprise I was not even remotely disappointed.

My breathing evened out as I listened to the sound of his steadily beating heart. In that moment it didn't matter who he was or where he was going. It didn't matter if I was ever going to see him again or how many other girls he would leave behind at a different harbor. A part of him was always going to stay with me and I knew that a part of me would stay with him, no matter what.

“I'll be gone in the morning.”

He didn't sound regretful or apologetic, just stated a fact that we both already knew. I smiled as I finally drifted off to sleep, feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath he took.

“I know.”


	3. Law x Reader

„She's back. Oxygen mask.”

“Here.”

“Pulse is steady.”

“Good. Get the stretcher and bring her in. Penguin, disinfect my instruments and put her on propofol. I'll start operating in eight minutes.”

“Aye, captain!”

Through the haze I saw hands lift me off the ground in a way I knew should be painful, but wasn't. I was way past feeling anything. To be honest I could've cared less about what was happening right now if not for a familiar voice that cut through the drowsiness.

“Onee-chan!”

My eyes shot open and I groaned as the light hit them painfully. I heard a gasp from somewhere behind me followed by sobs that I knew very well.

“Nee-chan! You're awake!”

“Hey, stop it! Don't jostle her!”, a male voice reprimanded her. “She's still in danger!”

_That won't be enough to stop her,_ I thought to myself with a slight smile. _So she made it back safely. Thank god._

“Nee-chan, can you hear me? Nee-chan!”

“Li...lian...”, I whispered as I tried to reach out towards her but found that my body wouldn't move. Why wouldn't it move? “Where...”

“I'm here!” And this time there was relieved laughter in her voice as she touched my arm softly but surely. “I'm here. Don't worry, I'm alright.”

“Good”, I croaked, smiling in the direction I thought she stood. It looked more like a grimace from the outside though.

“That guy from before, with the funny hat, he said he'll fix you, okay? They say he's a doctor, so he can do it! Just hang in there!”

I could barely make out what she was saying anymore, but I nodded gratefully when I heard the word 'doctor'. That sounded about right at the moment.

A different voice took over after that, the words blending together into incomprehensible mush. I just barely felt a prick in my arm before I drifted off to sleep and the world finally stopped.

It seemed like only a second had passed before I woke up to the sound of liquid sloshing around and a steady beeping in the background. Bits and pieces of what felt like memories flashed before my eyes almost immediately. A battleship. Screams of dying cattle. Canons hitting. Lilian swept away by a wave, shouting, reaching out, hands so close to touching, closer, not close enough... and then nothing.

_What happened?_

For some reason my eyes refused to open so I listened harder, trying to find something that would give me a hint to where I was. I found nothing. My breathing sped up with my growing panic. Where was I? And more importantly, where was my sister? At the back of my mind a voice whispered that I already knew she was alright, that she'd made it out of the storm, but I had to see for myself. I _needed_ to see her!

After a minute or so I heard the sound of a door opening and hasty footsteps across a metallic floor.

“She's panicking. Someone give her a sedative.”

“Aye!”

Another prick in the arm made me want to yell in surprise, but my throat wouldn't move. Fear gripped me like it never had before when I realized that I couldn't even scream for help if I wanted to. Did anyone know I was here? Were they searching? Was Lili-

I jolted when I suddenly felt hands on my shoulder and tried to trash against their grip instinctively.

“Don't”, a calm voice said, making me pause. “We're here to help you. Calm down.”

I kept breathing heavily through my nose, not even close to calming down. Who the hell did that guy think he was, telling me to-

“Relax”, the voice continued. “Steady breaths. In. And out. In. Out.”

I found myself complying before I knew it. His voice had a soothing effect, almost hypnotic. As my heart rate came down I noticed my muscles slowly relaxing, freeing my movement and unlocking my throat. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You're safe now”, the voice said. “We brought you and your sister away from the shipwreck. She's in the room next to you.”

“Lehg m'see her”, I gargled. Apparently my mouth wasn't too keen on cooperating either.

“You can see her when you've calmed down”, the voice continued evenly which soothed me even more than the firm touch did. I couldn't help the feeling that it sounded somewhat familiar.

“Mmhm”, I wordlessly agreed, feeling the apprehension slowly drain away. His hands were big and warm on my shoulders and in my drowsy state I felt like someone had to know that. “Yr hands... feel rly'good.”

I heard a snicker from somewhere behind me. “Hear that, captain? She likes your hands.”

A slap and a small 'Ouch' followed. “Shut up, Shachi! They're having a moment!”

“...Sumimasen.”

“What do _you_ have to do with it, Bepo?”

“Guys”, the calm voice from before interfered. “Cut it out.”

“Aye.”

“Sumimasen...”

“You didn't _do_ anything! Stop apologizing!”

“...Sumimasen.”

“ _Oi!_ ”

I didn't really get it, but still I couldn't keep a tired smile from forming. What a weird bunch.

“Just go to sleep now.” The voice said and I complied, finally able to place where I'd heard it before. Right, that was the doctor. A doctor...

When my consciousness finally returned I felt like I'd just had a good night's sleep. I tried to sit up and look around, but my movements were sluggish and slow which wasn't so bad because it kind of made me feel like I was floating. Sadly my almost comfortable drowsiness was interrupted by a sudden shout.

“DOCTOR! SHE'S WAKING UP!”

I jolted fully awake, groaning when artificial light burned my eyes. “Ow! What the hell?”

“Nee-chan!”, Lilian shouted, rushing over to kneel down next to my head. “Does it hurt? Are you okay?”

I hummed in agreement, lifting my arm to see an IV-needle forcing some sort of liquid into me. “How long was I out?”

Lilian breathed a sigh of relief before she grinned. “Just a few hours. You almost drowned, so they had to resurrect you and check for lung trauma. It's all okay though.”

My breath hitched. So all of that really happened. I'd thought it was a dream. “Are you-”

“I'm fine”, she waved me off, rolling her eyes. “Stop worrying about me all the time. I'm not the one in the hospital bed here.”

“Yeah, well-”

“This isn't a hospital.”

I turned at the unfamiliar – familiar? – voice to see a man with strange tattoos and a fuzzy hat leaning in the door, looking me over with a critical look. My brow furrowed. Who the hell-

“Doctor!”, Lilian chirped giddily, bouncing over to greet him. “She's awake!”

“Yes, I can see that”, the man said, sounding almost bored, and walked up to me, checking something on the chart next to my bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good”, I answered honestly, fingering the needle in my arm. “When can I take this off?”

“If your values stay as they are now for the next two hours you're free to go”, the doctor said, scribbling something onto the chart before putting it back down, looking at me critically.

I shifted under his gaze. “What?”

He didn't seem to notice my discomfort, instead turning away to walk back out the door. “One of my subordinates will check on you later. We'll reach Gintaki Island in about three hours.”

“Great”, I said, feeling strangely awkward around the man. Why was that?

Oh right, I almost forgot-

“Err... Doctor?”

He stopped at my call and looked back over his shoulder.

“Um... thanks”, I said sheepishly. “For helping me.”

The doctor nodded curtly and with a “Don't move around too much” he was gone.

I stared at the door for a good few seconds after that. Strange. I kind of wished he'd stayed a little longer.

I'd been out of bed and walking around for half an hour already when I heard the blessed call of “Land ho!” from the crow's nest. I breathed a sigh of relief. Land, finally!

“C'mon”, Lilian said, tugging on my arm. “I'll help you get up there.”

It was a slow, painful walk, but we managed to get out on deck without any problems. If lifted my head to let the wind breeze over my worn face. God, that felt good.

“Feeling better?”

I turned and saw a man in a white jumpsuit and a colorful hat grinning at me. I smiled back at him.

“Yeah, thanks.”

He waved me off. “No need to thank _me_. I was just following captain's orders.”

I shrugged and took a look around the... submarine? Really? “We're on a submarine?”

“It comes in handy”, the man said casually, leaning against the railing. “We'll dock in a few minutes, then you can go on your way.”

Before I could thank him again I felt someone step up beside me.

“Penguin, get the anchor ready. Shachi, the plank.”

“Aye, captain!”, two men – including the one I'd just spoken to – called, going back under deck at the doctor's order. I looked over at him.

“Hey”, I said, making him turn his head just slightly to look at me. “Thanks again for-”

“Don't mention it”, he cut me off brusquely and stepped to the other side of the submarine where some of his crew were pulling the ropes tight. I looked after him, slightly stunned.

“What's his problem?”, I asked aloud, causing someone to snicker behind me.

“He doesn't normally do this”, the polar bear said as he came into view. “And he doesn't like thanks.”

I just stared, not even hearing what he was saying. Wait a second...

“You're a _bear!_ ”, I exclaimed in surprise, pointing an accusing finger at him. “You _talked!_ ”

To complete my confusion the bear stiffened at my words, taking on a humble pose and bowing to me. “Sumimasen...”

“Huh?”, I asked, dumbstruck. Why did that sound familiar?

“Bepo”, the captain suddenly called sharply. “Take to steering!”

“Aye!”, the bear called, all but running away from me. I looked after him, still not quite comprehending what had just happened.

“We'll be there soon”, the doctor said brusquely as he passed me again before walking away, obviously done with our conversation. I bristled. That kind of treatment didn't sit well with me.

“Hey!”, I shouted at him. “Do you always treat your guests like this?”

He looked back at me over his shoulder. “You're not my guests.”

“Well, yeah, but-” The glare he gave me stopped me mid-sentence.

“You're people that I was nice enough to save from death. I don't owe you anything”, he said in a way that made it seem like a final statement. His gaze was hard and authoritative, betraying the almost monotone sound of his voice. “Don't try to twist the facts around.”

I closed my mouth, feeling pretty damn stupid and ashamed. He was right, wasn't he? He didn't owe us anything. In fact I owed him twice over for saving both mine and my little sister's lives. But still, I just wanted...

What? What did I want?

“If that's all, I have a ship to steer”, he said and left without even waiting for my answer. I just stood there, feeling like an idiot.

“Wow, what a jerk”, Lilian said with a very unladylike sneer. “If he didn't want us on board then why save us at all?”

“I dunno”, I mumbled, shaking my head. “Doesn't matter. We'll be out of here in a few minutes anyway.” Somehow the words didn't sound as reassuring to my ears as I had intended.

Lilian must have noticed too because she looked up at me with a confused frown. “Hey, you okay?”

It kind of didn't feel like I was okay, but since I had absolutely no reason not to be I quickly pushed the thought aside. I inconspicuously wiped the frown off my face and smiled at my sister instead, ruffling her hair in the way I knew she hated. “Sure. Ready for a new start, pipsqueak?”

“Hey, don't call me that”, she complained, batting my hand aside. “And don't do that, I'm not a kid anymore!”

I laughed, looking ahead towards the port. I was glad that my sister what here with me. God knows I would've gone nuts without her on this ship.

When we docked there were no big goodbyes or anything. The crew member with the colorful hat dropped the plank to let us get on land safely, a few people at the harbor staring openly at the brightly colored submarine. I could see why. It _was_ pretty flashy.

“Take care!”, the polar bear shouted, waving at us as we got off the ship. I waved back, feeling unjustifiably disappointed to leave like this. I'd just wanted to see the doctor one more time, thank him again-

But he didn't like thanks, did he? They'd told me that. Still...

“Hey, I hate to ask, but can I see the doctor one more time?”, I asked the bear since he seemed the most likely to not refuse me. “I want to say goodbye.”

For some reason I heard someone snicker at my question, but when I looked around, trying to find the one who'd done it, the bear excused himself hastily and ran inside the submarine to fetch the doctor. You could tell me what you want, but that bear was _weird_.

“Why do you want to see him?”, Lilian asked me, sounding slightly suspicious. “You thanked him already, didn't you?”

“I don't know”, I answered truthfully, staring up at the plank and waiting for him to show. “I just... don't want to leave like this.”

Before she could ask what I meant by that the doctor stepped up to the railing, looking down at us with a neutral expression.

“Was there something else you needed? I think we've done more than enough for you.”

I heard Lilian huff in indignation next to me, so I put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from acting out. “I just wanted to thank you again.”

The doctor looked at me weirdly, almost like he was about to walk away again. “I don't need thanks.” He started to turn away again.

“No, wait!” I walked back up the plank as quickly as I could without running until I stood at eye level with him. I held out my hand, ignoring the strange look he gave me for it. “I'm in your debt. Both my sister and I would have died without you. I can never pay you back for that, so just... thank you.”

He stared at me long enough for me to start gathering nervous sweat on my forehead before he grabbed my hand in a sure grip and shook it once. “Fine.”

His touch made me relax instantly for reasons that I couldn't fathom. Somewhere at the back of my mind the feeling seemed to evoke memories of a calm voice, a soothing touch...

_“You're safe now.”_

“I know this”, I mumbled under my breath without thinking, still staring at his hands, and whipped my head sharply in the direction of the booming laughter that followed my statement.

“Hahaha, told you she liked your hands, captain!”, the penguin guy wheezed as he slapped his thigh in a bout of hilarity. My face grew red.

“I- what? _No!_ I-”

My breath stuck in my throat as I looked back at the doctor and found a small smile playing on his lips. I was stunned. It was so subtle and yet it made his features change completely from a menacing mask to an almost approachable man.

“We're taking off”, he called to his crew, letting go of my hand and turning around to walk back into the inner cabins of his submarine. I looked after him for a second more, shocked into speechlessness, before my brain kicked into gear again and I started walking back down the plank, my hand still tingling from his touch.

Neither Lilian or I said a word as the ship took off, its crew members disappearing one by one under deck until the hatch closed and the submarine started to submerge.

“They were kinda weird, weren't they?”, Lilian asked when the ship vanished in the water as though it had never been there.

I smiled, squeezing my right hand with the other. “You can say that again.”


	4. Dragon x Reader

People had always liked to put labels on each other. Sexuality, religion, nationality, everything needed to be categorized and sorted as if that would make it more tangible or real. If stuff was left unlabeled it didn't fit into society. It couldn't be grasped by the people.

I'd always hated it. People were more than what you might call them, more than the things you might see them as. These labels were nothing but words, they didn't actually change the way you were on the inside. Because of them people were oftentimes afraid to show their true colors, scared that they might put them in one of the 'unacceptable' categories that society liked to make up.

However there were people who stood above that. Mostly the ones who had found their purpose in life already and now followed a singular goal without caring that society might shun them for it. They were outcasts, people that were perceived as 'wrong' due to the laws and rules supporting our corrupt little system. And no one – no one in the world – was further from what society wanted than Monkey D. Dragon.

People said that Dragon was the most dangerous man in the world. A revolutionary. Son of Vice Admiral Garp. East Blue prodigy. Black-haired. Tattooed. Stoic. Strict. He had all of these different labels and he wore them with pride. But what I admired most about him wasn't that, but the fact that he didn't let any of them define him. In his group of revolutionaries he didn't enforce his thoughts on anyone, didn't try to put labels like 'good' or 'evil' on things, he simply kept working towards his goal, unstoppable and unshakable like the rising tide. We followed him not out of fear or out of the will to be 'one in the all', to seek refuge in the label of being a 'revolutionary'. No, we followed him for who he truly was.

A man who sought freedom.

If people wanted to call him fearsome, cruel, dangerous or whatever, then they would do so anyway, no matter what others had to say about it. But to Dragon it didn't matter. He was a man with a mission, a man who did not need labels to _be._

I'd always known that I'd be happy to lay down my life for his cause because somewhere along the way, through years of struggle and desperation, it had become mine as well. I hadn't expected it to happen quite as soon as it did, but in the end that was just fine by me. It was fine because Dragon was there.

“Close your eyes”, he said, laying a hand on my forehead and the other one on my shoulder. “It's alright.”

The coughs wrecked my body so hard that my ribs ached in protest and when I spoke my damaged throat made my voice sound raspy. “Did we come through?”, I asked, forcing my head back to look at him one last time. “Did I do good?”

He nodded once, firmly. “You did.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and reached up to grab his hand, closing my eyes. “That's... good...”

He squeezed my hand briefly, a gesture so impossibly reassuring that I felt every muscle in my body relax at his touch. “We got through their main defense”, he told me calmly. “We'll just have to push a little further until we get what's ours.”

I tried to nod, but when my neck wouldn't move I just hummed an affirmative. His grip on my hand tightened.

“Thank you for standing by me.” My breath hitched when he said that so suddenly. “Thank you for trusting me. I promise it won't be in vain. We _will_ reach freedom someday.”

The conviction in his voice brought tears to my eyes. I thought back to my village, to the fire, the screams of my dying people, to the government that had done nothing to help us. And I thought of the man kneeling right next to me holding my hand, this great man with an even greater ambition who would put an end to all of this injustice, who would make sure that things like that would never happen again.

“I know.” I choked out a sob, ignoring the pain that came from the heaving of my ribs with each shaky breath. “I know we will. You're a good man, Dragon. If anyone can do it, it's you.”

His hand left my forehead to stroke my hair softly. “It's thanks to all the people who've had to sacrifice their own happiness for our sake.” He paused for a second before he added. “It's thanks to all of you.”

My heart fluttered at his words. This right here, this was why I could die for him without regrets, why I would gladly hand over my body and soul for him to do whatever he pleased with it. Even though I knew that I was only a small cog in a big machinery, most unimportant and exchangeable, he always managed to turn things around in my head.

He made me feel... needed.

“Rest now”, he murmured, stroking his thumb over the hand he still held in his. “I'll stay with you.”

He must've had so many places to be. So many other people to watch over. But just for this moment, just this once, I was the thing that mattered to him the most. And it felt amazing.

But even stronger than that was the feeling that my time was up.

I tilted my head towards the sky, letting my mind slowly fade into the darkness closing in on me, completely at peace with the world. “...Thank you.”

And in my last moments I realized something. Something about Dragon, another label, one I doubted anyone had ever put on him before. Because as much as Dragon was dangerous and fearsome and kind and understanding, he was also something that only ever shone through in moments like this, when he showed us this most vulnerable side of himself. A side that was caring, loyal and warm.

He was a father.


	5. Killer x Reader

_There's something off about him_ , I decided as I watched him from around the corner, tapping my pen against my notebook in thought. Something in his aura or the way he moved or-

_Slash!_

“NOO! BROTHER!”

Well, that.

“Relax, he's not dead”, I heard him drawl from beneath his mask as he wiped his knives clean on the jacket of the killed brother in question. “Just won't get up for a while.”

“ _How dare you?!_ ”, another man shouted in outrage, lunging at the one they called Killer (how ironic) with his bare fists. “I'll make you pay for this, bastard!”

I silently shook my head. What an idiot.

Needless to say said idiot was down in 2.5 seconds.

I watched closely as the masked man cleaned and sheathed his swords with the sure movements of a trained fighter. He didn't even seem to acknowledge the huge crowd now slowly inching away from him, satisfied with his share of innocent victims for the day.

“We're done here. Let's go, Killer!”, his red-headed captain suddenly called him back as he boisterously led his men through the haphazard mess of dead and wounded left in his path. Truly a fearsome man.

I scribbled some keywords of what I had just seen in my notebook to be revised and written out later before I followed their group at a safe distance.

What an interesting crew they were, even more so than I had imagined. I had originally started trailing them to gather information on the infamous Eustass 'Captain' Kid, one of the eleven supernovae currently terrorizing Sabaody. Of course with a 315 million bounty on his head, an unusual devil fruit and that destructive attitude towards humans in general any journalist with a healthy lack of self-preservation would be dying to get their hands on him.

During my research however the focus of my work had somehow shifted towards one of his crew members, a high-class rookie with a bounty of over 100 million who hid his face behind a blue and white mask. The name given to him was Killer, a somewhat ridiculous nickname I'd initially thought, but little research was needed to find it to be incredibly fitting.

And there was something about him. I couldn't really explain what, but my inner voice told me that if I followed this man I was in for a big surprise. And people like me live off surprises.

I tucked my notebook back into my inner coat pocket and casually followed the Kid pirate crew as they strolled down the streets of Sabaody, causing a commotion at every other corner. It seemed that their captain just couldn't tone down his excitement about making it here. Strangely somewhere between the last two alleys I had lost sight of the man I had put my main focus on-

It happened way too fast.

One second I was walking down an empty side street, the next I was pressed face first against the stone wall, cold metal pushed threateningly against the back of my neck and a voice growling in my ear.

“Don't move.”

I made a choked-off, desperate noise in the back of my throat, sounding like a scared animal. Which – at the moment – I kind of was.

“Who are you working for?”, the same voice asked in an icy tone that made me shiver unpleasantly. “Answer.”

“N-nobody”, I squeaked, twitching in panic as the metal dug deeper into my neck threateningly. “Wait, no no no! I'm just a freelance author! It's the truth, I swear to God!”

“Still, you were following us for information”, he stated grimly. I just about jumped out of my skin when I suddenly felt a hand creep under my jacket.

“N-no-”

“Shut up”, he ordered curtly, retracting his hand and with it – to my horror – my notebook.

“Please, I'm not-”

“I said shut up.” His voice sounded eerily calm even as the blade dug deeper into my flesh and I could feel blood trickle down my skin. Panic grew inside me at the realization. He wasn't going to _kill_ me, was he?

I could hear him quickly turning the pages in my book until he suddenly stopped. My breath caught in my throat when he suddenly started flipping the pages rapidly, scanning over the dozens of observations I had made about him. I closed my eyes in defeat. Dammit, I was going to die here.

“What is this?”, he growled at last, throwing the notebook down at my feet. “Who are you?”

“I-I'm”, I stuttered, wracking my brain for something, anything, _goddammit, there must be something-_ “A FAN! I'm a fan!”

Silence.

The arm pressed against my neck tensed at the exact moment my own body froze in terror. A fan?! Oh God, that had to be the stupidest, most unbelievable, _idiotic-_

“Oh”, he said, retracting his blade. “A fan, huh?”

As soon as the metal left my neck I sucked in a huge breath, my brain spinning half from my near-death experience, half from disbelief. I turned to face him on instinct, scrambling several steps away even as I started babbling mindlessly. “Y-yeah, big fan! I love the Kid pirates, you guys are awesome, especially you Killer-sama, I've watched you kill those guys back there, you were awesome! Keep working hard, senpai!” I cringed at my words right as they left my mouth. Oh shit, I was so doomed.

“Right.” His voice sounded just as flat as his expression probably was beneath his mask and his arms were stiff at his sides. “Sure. Thanks.”

“No problem!”, I giggled, sweating bullets. This couldn't be it, right? He wouldn't just let me off this easy, right?

When several seconds passed without either of us saying anything I took one more hesitant step out of the alley, pointing nervously at the street. “Well, I uh. Gotta go. It was, um. Great. Meeting you.”

I turned around, just about ready to run when a knife suddenly dug itself into the ground mere inches from my feet. I let out a less than dignified squeak.

“So... _fan_ ”, he drawled right into my ear and my whole body froze at the close proximity. I hadn't even heard him move. “If you've really watched me as closely as your notes lead me to believe you should know not to take me for a fool.”

“I'm not, I swear!” I'd never known my voice could reach such a high pitch. “Please, I know you don't have a reason to trust me, but-”

“You know, huh? So tell me, reporter, why shouldn't I kill you right now?”

“B-because...”, I stammered, frantically looking around the alley for inspiration. There was none. “B-b-because...”

“That's what I thought.” The sharp scraping sound of metal on metal rung in my ears and my eyes squeezed shut in horrified anticipation.

_Mom, dad, I love you, you were right all along, I should've just become an accountant-_

The sound of slicing made me let out a repressed scream before my eyes suddenly shot open. No pain? Was I dead? But it hadn't sounded like-

I startled when something white suddenly fell into my view, drifting to the ground right in front of my face. My eyes automatically followed its descent to the ground as my mind tried to make sense of the situation. Paper. Why was there paper? My head whipped around in confusion to find my notes scattered all around me across the asphalt, sliced into fine shreds. Amidst my whirling thoughts and the overwhelming sense of _Holy shit I'm alive holy shit_ I didn't draw conclusions immediately until white and blue blocked my vision and I jumped about a foot in the air.

“If you follow me again I will know”, the deep voice drawled inches from my face, somehow still sounding bored despite everything, but the threat was clear as day. “I won't be so nice next time.”

I found myself frantically nodding and bowing ninetly degrees several times as I pulled away from the man. “Of course, yes, I'm really sorry, you'll never see me again, I promise!”

Killer watched me for another second or two before wordlessly turning around and walking out of the alley. As soon as he turned the corner I felt my knees wobbling and giving out underneath me, sending me to the ground among the shreds of my research. I pushed a shaky hand through my hair, wiping the sweat of my forehead absentmindedly. It took several minutes for me to calm my heavy breathing and when I did a bout of quiet, slightly crazy laughter took its place.

Exhilarating. Euphoric. I didn't know how to describe the feeling this near death experience had left me with, but it was the fucking greatest I had felt in a long time.

I wiped my face once again to hide the huge grin on my face. If this wasn't what it meant to be alive, then what was? I didn't care if it made me crazy or weird, I had licked blood and loved the taste of it. I needed more.

Looking at the spot where Killer had disappeared I got back on my feet, dusting off my clothes and stepping over the remains of my research towards the main street, unable to keep the satisfied smirk off my face.

Never see me again, huh? We'll see about that.


	6. Law x Reader II

I never expected much from him. Not in the beginning anyway. After all hearing rumors about a man nicknamed something 'Of Death' didn't exactly make me swoon like a little school girl. Instead I envisioned a smug, arrogant man, prancing about on his 'ship of death' with a mountain of 'weapons of doom' in his little 'cabin of awesome'. I thought he would be just another one of these fools who thought the world lay at their feet without even having seen half of it.

And then I met him.

He was fierce in a quiet, reserved way. His eyes were sharp like those of an undiscovered genius and held a hidden darkness that might have scared most people away, but intrigued me more than anything else about him. His body was firm and warm despite his cold appearance, his hands nimble like those of an artist.

Lines upon lines of ink trailing over his body told stories of where he'd been, forming words and symbols almost as alluring as the man himself. Still the heart on his chest seemed to mock me with bitter irony every time I ran my hands and lips over it. This man did not love. Not anyone.

I couldn't begin to grasp the horrors that must have brought him to this and I never asked him either. He would not tell, not me, not a stranger. I doubted that he even confided in his crew. I could feel in every touch that he did not trust me, that he did not get involved in whatever we had. I could handle it. But it still hurt whenever I saw the smile that was never meant for me, the smile that he only turned towards the people he sailed with.

In contrast to his hatred towards people he genuinely seemed to care about his crew. I guess that was what stunned me the most. That this man who took sadistic pleasure in cutting people open, this surgeon of death had a heart to care.

But not love. This man did not love.

When he fucked me he was rough. When he held me he was gentle. He didn't kiss me, not even once, but his words were always respectful and kind.

Despite everything he was not a liar.

He never told me things that might be interpreted the wrong way, words that might give me hope. I was grateful for it and at the same time it made me want to scream in frustration. What did I not have? Why could he not see me?

It took me a long time to understand that it wasn't me who was the problem. It was him and his absolute inability to fall in love with me. The knowledge didn't make my situation any better, but I still preferred it to the constant self-doubt.

He was a mystery. Dark and beautiful and passionate and strong. He was everything I could ever want in a man.

He was also unreachable.

No matter how hard I tried to give him a reason to come back, to make him stay, to make him _mine_... It was an impossible feat. He didn't belong to anyone. And I didn't belong to him. He didn't want me to.

But I loved him. From the bottom of my heart, with my body and soul, I loved him.

If only that had been enough.


End file.
